Turbine generator rotor



March 19, 1935. B. A. Boss TURBINE GENERATOR ROTOR Filed July 29, 1932 A; 5 ed RPM.

Mode 0/ Vz'brazz'on at Peaks 23, 24,25, )2 26 Fi 7 I fienn/e H. Rose.

INVENTOR WITNESSES:

AT-TORNEY Patented Mar. 19, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 1,994,922 TURBINE GENERATOR ROTOR Bennie A. Rose, Swissvale, Pa., assignor to Westinghouse Electric & Manufacturing Company, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 29, 1932, Serial No. 625,613 7Claims. (Cl. 171206) My invention relates, in general, to turbine to occur as the rotor is brought up to normal generators and more particularly to two-pole, operating speed or as it is allowed to slow down high-speed, turbine generators of large capacito a standstill. One of these serious modes of ties. vibration takes place in a frequency range that With the increasing demand for two-pole tursubstantially coincides with the frequency range 5 bine generators of large capacity to operate at of a main critical speed of the entire turbine a speed of 3600 R. P. M., for example, the probgenerator, said speed being a speed at which the lem of designing a rotor which will operate satfrequency of the disturbing force is in resonance isfactorily and be substantially free from vibrawith the natural frequency of vibration of the 10 tion is of major importance. On acount of the entire generator. The other serious mode of 10 high rotative and peripheral speeds, the general vibration takes place at a frequency which is subdesign of a two-pole turbine generator of large stantially one-half of the main critical speed. capacity depends upon the type and construc- The moment of inertia under consideration in tion of the rotor rather than upon the constructhis case is that of a plane area, namely,

I5 tion of the stator. The stresses in a rotor of I: ftgdA this type, caused by the centrifugal forces of the various rotating parts, are so great that the Where I is the moment of inertia, T is the djameter of the rotor cannot safely exceed 30 tance Of 83.611 small area, dA, from the axis under inches t t there being such corresponding consideration. In this case only a section at reduction in t weight of t opper field windright angles to the axis of the rotor need be con- 20 ings t t t k, v, a rating of t turbine sidered, as will become apparent from the more erator is accordingly reduced Consequently detailed disclosure given hereinafter. The molittle is gained by attempting to make th d a ment of inertia of a section is the sum of the t of a two-pole rotor larger t ehDreXiproducts of each elementary area of the section mately inches. In other words, the relationinto the square of i distance from a a m d w ship between the rotating stresses and the diamaxis of rotation. as the neutral See Kents eter of a two-pole rotor shows that the maximum Mechanical Engineers Pocket-BOOK, p

k. v. a. rating of a two-pole turbine generator is fourth edition, revisedsee also Strength of obtained when the diameter of the rotor is ap- Materials y Boyd, third edition, v ed 4,

proximately 30 inches. Furthermore, the utilizapage 0 tion of aluminum exciting coils, while lighter in The latter of these modes of vibrations is the weight, is objectionable, for the reason that a result of the action of the body 0f the rotor larger emse seetioha1 area f the aluminum is itself in resisting the downward pull of gravity. required t bt i the sa 1;, a rating as th Inasmuch as the coil slots are non-uniformly copper exciting coils. Therefore, the only means disposedalound the p ph y of he rotor to 35 of materially increasing the k. v. a. rating of the form the two field D the rigidity of the y relatively large t 1 turbine generators is of the rotor is not constant in all radial direct lengthen t body of t rotor. tions in a plane perpendicular to the rotational Accordingly, t is t increased length of t axis. The non-uniformly disposed coil slots about body of a two-pole rotor that leads to two see periphery the body of the rotor Cause two 40 i modes of vibration, h rotor of a t principal moments of inertia to exist in the body l t bi generator having capacity of of the rotor, which may be generally referred 35000 k. v. a. is approximately 170 inches long to With regard to axis IXIX d ry- W th with a diameter of 30 inches. When the ratio of the presence of the tWO principal moments of the length to the diameter of the rotor apinertia, the rotor under the influence of gravity 4;,

proaches or exceeds 5 to 1 the body becomes quite is caused to deflect ptwice p flexible. This means that, as a result of its own h r v l i n of h r r- A rd n ly, he weight, the body of the rotor is caused to sag or frequency resulting from t a ab e moment deflect downwardly, thus causing a, relatively of inertia is exactly twice the frequency of the large downward curvature in the body. This Speed of rotation. Therefore, when the speed 50 large curvature in the body of the rotor, in comof rotation is exactly one-half the main critical bination with the variable moment of inertia of speed, the disturbing influence of the variable an area at right angles to the rotor body that is moment of inertia has a frequency equal to the caused by the non-uniformly disposed radial coil main critical speed. At this particular speed a slots, causes two very serious modes of vibration condition of resonance is present, and, conse- 55 critical speeds. I not have two first critical speeds, but, reason these vibrations become ala quently, a serious mode of vibration occurs, which, if not reduced, to a safe value, will eventually wreck the rotor.

The second serious mode of vibration occurs in a speed range between the two first ordinary In general, a rotating shaft does of the fact that a two-pole rotor is non-lmiiorin- 1y slotted around the periphei it has two critical speeds each resulting from the two different moments inertia. in the body or" the rotor. If the moment of inertia about the axis Ix-IX is less that about the axis Iy-Iy the critical speed corresponding to the first will be less than that corresponding to the second. Be cause or this variable moment of inertia, the body of two pole rotor will not behave a si2n ple shaft, but'will vibrate seriously it the entire range l:- tween e two critical corresponding to the two mom nts of inei even to the extent of totally wrecking the rotor. However, when the speed of the rotor is i' beyond the speed range occur 1g between the two critical. sp eds corresponc .ig to two moments of inertia, the rotor is no longer fiuenced by the variable of r That is to say, when the rotor is operating a relatively high speed the vibrating lll' the same as it is when operating near or at t;.- critical speeds; A simple shaft slightly unbalanced, but having a uniform fiexural rigidityin all radial directions, vibrates only at one certain speed, being in the range near the first critical speed. However, with the damping influences which are always present, this mode of vibration is not generally considered serious, because the magnitude of the vibration is limited to a certain finite value. This finite value, as is known in the art, is determined when'a state of equilibrium is reached between the that is put into th system and that by the damping of the rotating body.

The two-pole rotor with a variable moment of inertiaacts entirely different from siniple shaft. It is shown analytically by Dr. A. Stodola (see Steam 8: Gas Turbines, vol. 2, Fage 1125 writ n by Dr. Stodola and published by lVicGra w-' Book Company, inc. in 1927) that the inotion of a rotating body through the speed range between the first two critical speeds is unstable." That is to say, the amplitude of vibration steadily creases to such large proportions eventual the rotor willwrec itself. It is apparent, however, that this tendency towards instability not present to any appreciable extent in two: pole rotors for relatively small turbine generators where the ratio of the length to the dianae= ter of the rotor is relatively small. In other Words, where the ratio of the length to the diameter of a rotor is relatively sm o as which is always present in a rota g body, 1 its the vibrations to correspondingly small amplitudes. However, in long flexible rotors, as are used in large generators of the twc-pole the damping action is not sufficient to limit the vibrations to small safe values, and, accor .ingly,

igly great.

Tests conducted on models or" a two-pole rotor, dynamically similar to large rotors, show that it the speed of rotation were maintained in the speed range between the two critical speeds corresponding to the two moments of inertia, the vibrations would continue to increase to such large proportions that the rotor would. eventually wreck itself.

T--e principal object of my invention is to provide for eliminating the two critical modes of vibration caused by a variable moment of inertia in a plane perpendicular to the rotational axis.

lhe secondary object of my invention is to provice for so constructing a two-pole rotor for a turbine generator that the moment of inertia is substantially equal in all radial directions, whereby modes of vibrations, as hereinabove discussed, are entirely eliminated or reduced to such small values that the rotor may be efficiently operated throughout the critical speed ranges.

Other objects and a full understanding of my invention may be by referring to the following description, taken in connection with the accompan ing drawing, in which; 7

Figure l is a longitudinal view of a two-pole rotor embodying the features of invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 11-3. of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a cross-sectional view of atwo-pole rotor showing only the radial coil slots.

Fig. l illustrates the resonant curves for the mode of vibrations resulting from a variable mo* ment of inertia.

Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic, but an exaggerated, view of the mode of vibration which exists when a resonant condition of vibration occurs.

Fig. 6 is a fragmentarylongitudinal view or a two-pole rotor embodying a modifiedfornl of my invention, and

Fig. is a cross-sectional view taken along the line VII-VII of Fig. 6. 7 V

Vfith reference to the drawing, the reference character 9 represents, generally, a two-pole rotor for a high speed turbine generator. As usually constructed for. high speed machines the body and the shafts are forged from one piece. However, the rotor may be built up of a number of separate plates or disks mounted rigidly together to form a unitary structure.

With particular reference to Figs. 2 and 3,'the reference ch .racter l2 represents the usual coil slots in which the current carrying conductors 11 are secured. As illustrated, in accordance with the general practice, the current carrying conductors ll may be held in place by non-magnetic wedges 14 which are inserted or driven into longitudinal grooves provided in the sides of the coil slots near the outer periphery of the rotor. Up to this point, the rotor thus far described is ofthe conventional type that is generally used for turbine generators of relatively small capacities. As is'readily apparent, in the conventional type, the moment of inertia about the horizontal axis ill-Ix is less than the moment of inertia aoout the vertical axis IyIy.

In order to totally aiminate or to reduce to safe limits the vibrations resulting from the variable moments of inertia, 1 preferably provide for milling in the pole sectors of the rotor, additional slots 17. The arcuate spacing, the depth, and other dimensions of these additional slots 1'7 are the same as the coil slots 12. This provision, a is manifest, reduces'the moment of inertia about the vertical axis and the total result is such that the moment of inertia in all radial directions is substantially the same. Hence, the modes of vibration resulting from a variable moment of inertia are totally or substantially eliminated.

As illustrated, in order not to increase the reluctance oi the magnetic path of. the poles, the

additional slots 1 7 are refilled by bars 1801? paramagnetic-material. The-para-magnetic bars 16 arecut in; relatively short sections, so that they do not add any additional rigidity to the rotor, andthus disturb the substantially constant flexural-rigidity. The bars 18'may be secured'in the slots 17 bymeans of para-magnetic wedges 19 driven into longitudinal grooves that are providedin-the sides of the additional slots 17 near the outer periphery of the rotor. The bars 18 and the wedges 19 may be of a higher permeability' than-the steel forg g 0f the rotor itself. Accordingly, the magneticreluctance of the poles is not reduced in any manner by milling in the additional slots 17.

Lest there be some misunderstanding of the theory of my invention, it should be remembered that the rotoris-equivalentto a loaded beam; subject to rotation. Obviously, if a beam is considered to have a section such as indicated in Fig. 3, its fiexural rigidity about a neutral axis such as IP-Ix is a function of the moment of inertia about this axis and the modulus of elasticity oi the material of the beam. Further, its fiexural rigidityabout Iy-Iy when this axis is in the horizontal position, namely, the neutral axis, is also determined by the moment of inertia of the plane area of the section of the beam about the axis I I and the modulus of elasticity of the material of the beam. A rotor or beam such as shown in Fig. 3, when loaded by its own weight and subject to rotation, will thus have a variable flexural rigidity because the moment of inertia about its horizontal or neutral axis varies.

If the structure be of the nature shown in Fig. 2, and the bars 18 are relatively short bars, their influence even though of the self-same material as the rotor body will be negligible and the sectional area of the bars 18 need not be taken into consideration in determining the moment of inertia about any neutral axis. The material in the slot 17 thus has no more influence on the flexural rigidity of the rotor 9 than have the conductors in the slots for the two poles.

With regard to the showing in Figs. 6 and 7, a similar theory obtains because slots 30, being spaced relatively short distances apart obviously substantially eliminate that portion of the material of the rotor intermediate the slots 30 from consideration when determining the moment of inertia about the neutral axis. The rotor shown in Figs. 6 and 7 thus also has a uniform flexural rigidity, because the moment of inertia about the neutral axis has substantially no variation.

The vibrating characteristics of a two-pole rotor may be best understood by referring to the resonant curves of Fig. 4, in which the amplitude of vibration of the body of the rotor is plotted as ordinates and the speed of rotation as abscissa.

The first peak from the left, indicated by the reference character 23, illustrates, generally, the magnitude of vibration of the first critical speed resulting from a variable moment of inertia. The mode of vibration represented by the peak 23 results from only the variable moment of inertia, and has no connection with the unbalanced condition of the rotor. The peak 23 occurs at a speed equal to one-half the first main critical speed. Hence, in accordance with my invention, the vibrations represented by the peak 23 are totally or substantially eliminated when the additional slots 17 are provided in the pole sectors of the rotor.

The resonant peaks, represented by the reference characters 24 and 25, show, generally, the

3. amplitude of vibration at the two critical speeds resulting from a non-uniform moment of inertia. The peak 24 corresponds to one moment of'inertia say about IxIx, and the peak 25 corresponds to the other moment of inertia, say about axis IyIy. The peak 25 occurs at a slightly higher speed than the peak 24, for the reason that the moment of inertia about Iy-Iy is greater than the moment of inertia Ix-Ix. Should the rotor be allowed to run for even a relatively short period of' time in the speed range between the peaks 24 and 25, the vibrations would eventually build up to such large proportions that the rotor would soon wreck itself. The seriousness of this mode of vibration is substantiated analytically by Stodola (see the publication hereinbefore mentioned). The peak, designated by the reference character 26, shows, generally, the amplitude of the vibration occurring at the first main critlcal speed of a two-pole rotor embodying the features of-my invention. The maximum amplitude of the peak 26 is such that it is always within the safe operating limits of the rotor. Therefore, the vibrating characteristics of a two pole rotor embodying the features of my invention is represented, generally, by the heavy line 27, the peak 26 being the only one occurring as the speed of the rotor is brought up to the normal operating speed, or as the rotor is allowed to slow down to a standstill.

In Figs. 6 and 7, I illustrate a modified form of my invention. In the modified form, I provide for cutting, at spaced intervals, radial arcuate slots 30 in the pole sectors of the rotor. The spacing and the depth of the radial slots 30 will, in a measure, depend upon the length of the body of the rotor, but in any event, a sufiicient number of slots are provided so that the fiexural rigidity of the rotor is substantially constant in all radial directions.

Since certain changes in my invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is intended that all matters contained in the foregoing description and shown in the accompanying drawing shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

I claim as my invention:

1. A two-pole rotor having two groups of coil slots formed therein, current-carrying conductors disposed in said coil slots, said rotor hav ing additional slots formed therein to provide a substantially constant fiexural rigidity, and magnetic material disposed in said additional slots.

2. A two-pole rotor having two groups of coil slots formed therein, current-carrying conductors disposed in said coil slots, said coil slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor, wedges of non-magnetic material inserted in said grooves for securing the current-carrying conductors in said coil slots, said rotor having additional slots formed therein to provide a substantially constant flexural rigidity, magnetic material disposed in said additional slots, said additional slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor, and wedges inserted in the last-mentioned grooves for securing the magnetic material in said additional slots.

3. A two-pole rotor having two groups of coil slots formed therein, current-carrying conductors disposed in said coil slots, said coil slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor, wedges of non-magnetic material inserted in said grooves for securing the current-carrying conductors in said coil slots,

said rotor having additional slots formed therein to provide a substantially constant flexural rigid ity, magnetic material disposed in said additional slots, said additional. slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor,.and wedges of magnetic material inserted in the last-mentioned grooves forsecuring the magnetic material in said additional slots.- 7

4. A two-pole rotor having two groups of coil slots formed therein, current-carrying conductors disposed in said coil slots, said coil slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor, wedges of non-magnetic material inserted in said grooves for securing the current-carrying conductors in said coil slots, said rotor having additional slots formed therein to provide a substantially constant fiexural rigidity, bars of magnetic material disposed in said additional slots, said bars being cut in sections to avoid disturbing the substantially constant fiexural rigidity of the rotor, said additional slots having grooves formed in their sides near the outer periphery of the rotor, and wedges inserted in the last-mentioned grooves for securing the magnetic material in said additional slots.

5. A rotor of the slotted type having two poles, said poles being provided with a plurality of slots but each of said poles having at least one of said slots formed therein to reduce the fiexural rigidity of the rotor, bars of magnetic material disposed in the slot formed to reduce the flexural rigidity, said bars being out in sections to avoid rte-strengthening the rotor, and means for securing the magnetic bars in the slot provided with said-bars.

6. A rotor oftheslotted typehaving two poles and two groups of coilslots, and current-carrying conductorsdisposed in said coil slots, said poles having additional-slots formed therein at the regions not slotted for said current-carrying conductors to provide a substantially constant flexural rigidity. v V v V V 7. A rotor of the slotted type having two poles and two groups of coil slots, and current-carrying conductors disposed in said coil slots, said poles having transverse slots formed therein and positioned only in the regions not slotted for said ourrent-carrying conductors to provide asubstane tially constant flexural rigidity.

BENNIE A. ROSE. 25 

